


Temporary Arrangement

by etamiss



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Babysitting, Domestic, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:19:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3393206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etamiss/pseuds/etamiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bull and Dorian look after a baby with varying degrees of success.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Temporary Arrangement

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

Starting awake at the sound of Dorian's voice, Bull is instantly disappointed by the realisation that he'd fallen asleep. Dorian looks as exhausted as he feels, fresh from the field (and still slightly soggy from the marshes), but he lingers in the doorway rather than making his usual beeline for Bull's bed.

"Dorian," he says cheerfully. "How was the Mire?"

"I've yet to meet anything described as a 'mire' that agrees with me," Dorian says. "Although I must admit I do have more pressing concerns at the moment than whether I'll ever get these mud stains out of my robes." 

He nods to the small bundle resting against Bull's chest. "For instance, where you acquired an infant is remarkably high on my list."

"Ah."

Currently slumbering on the expanse of Bull's chest, the baby starts fussing at the interruption and Bull tips her back until she's resting in the crook of his arm.

"It's a temporary arrangement," he says. "Her mother was with the group of refugees that arrived today. She caught a chill on the mountain -- she's recuperating with the healer."

"I don't recall asking for a family history," Dorian says but his gaze is on the baby and there's no bite behind his words. "How did _you_ acquire the child?"

"I was helping the refugees," Bull says. "She sort of took a shine to me."

Dorian arches an eyebrow and Bull laughs, rubbing his knuckles over the baby's belly as she wriggles. "What can I say, the kid has excellent taste."

Dorian pinches the bridge of his nose. "I leave you alone for one day…" He folds his arms across his chest. "Did you also take in a litter of abandoned kittens when I wasn't looking? Maybe a small dragon?"

Bull sits up a little straighter and tries to keep his tone casual. "Would that be something you'd be okay with or…?"

Dorian's stare is only slightly less scathing than when Bull suggested plaidweave for his new curtains. He doesn't deign to answer the question but approaches the bed, hands out to take the baby. "All right, let me see it."

Frowning, Bull shifts the baby to his other arm. "You're filthy."

Dorian makes an incredulous noise. "This from a qunari? You sweat more than anyone I've ever encountered."

"I took a bath!"

"You sweat in the bath!"

Bull makes no move to give him the baby and Dorian looks down at himself, visibly arriving at the decision not to physically wrestle Bull for maligning his hygiene while he's holding a baby. It's clearly a struggle for him.

"Fine," he huffs, turning away and stripping out of his damp clothes. 

He doesn't stop at his robes, peeling off his trousers and smallclothes too, and Bull makes a scandalised noise when presented with the pleasing sight of Dorian's rear. "There are children present, you know."

He puts a hand over the baby's eyes. She babbles excitedly at the new game and pats at Bull's fingers with delight.

Dorian glances over his shoulder as he pulls on clean clothes. "She's been in your care for a day," he says. "I doubt my arse is the worst thing she's seen."

Bull can't fault his logic there -- they _had_ spent a good portion of the afternoon hanging out with Skinner -- but he's not about to let this descend into an argument about which of them is more likely to traumatise a small child. (Given the hobbies of most of the Chargers, Bull isn't confident of victory.)

The baby seems content enough when he lifts his hand away and he lets her gnaw on his little finger when Dorian approaches the bed again. "I trust I now meet your standards?"

He's wearing the deep red set of robes that he keeps in Bull's storage chest. He keeps them in Bull's chest rather than his own because of how much Bull enjoys pulling these particular robes off him during sex and thus Bull decides it's deeply unfair for him to be wearing them now.

"You always meet my standards," Bull says, keeping any lasciviousness to a minimum. (It's hard.) "Fair warning, she's a fussy one. Got passed around most of the sisters in camp before she decided she liked me."

On cue, the baby begins to cry when Bull hoists her up and into Dorian's hands. Dorian casts an appraising eye over the baby but there's a definite fondness in his voice when he says, "She's certainly a chubby little thing, isn't she?"

"Sure is," Bull says proudly. "Rolled off the bed earlier and hardly noticed it."

Dorian looks horrified. "You let her roll off the bed?"

"She's fine," Bull says around a yawn.

"She's not a qunari," Dorian grumbles. "She's not designed to bounce when dropped from great heights."

Evidently sensing some kind of shared bond with the baby -- she isn't the only one that Bull's accidentally let roll out of bed in the past -- Dorian tucks her in his arms. 

The crying dies down and Bull grins in surprise as the baby gurgles and presses her tear-stained face into Dorian's chest.

"Congratulations, big guy," he says. "I think she likes you."

"Everyone likes me," Dorian says absently. If Bull had to guess, he'd wager Dorian is completely unaware of how much he's smiling.

"What's her name?" Dorian asks, prying a crease in his robe out of the baby's mouth.

Bull folds his hands behind his head. "I didn't quite catch it," he admits. "I've been calling her Barn."

Dorian's eyebrows shoot up. " _Barn_? What are you intending to call our children? Outhouse? Shed?"

"It's short for barnacle," Bull explains. "Because she was clinging onto me like…"

He trails off as he processes Dorian's question. "Wait, _our_ kids?"

Dorian's cheeks flush. "I didn't mean-"

"As in yours and mine?"

"It's just a figure of speech," he mutters, not meeting Bull's gaze.

"Oh, of course," Bull says, grinning wide. He reaches out to grab the strap looping around Dorian's thigh and drags him closer. Dorian bats his hand away as he lowers himself to sit against the headboard beside him, careful not to jostle the baby in his arms. 

Bull slings an arm around his shoulders and yawns as Dorian settles against him, head on his shoulder and cold feet tucked between Bull's calves.

"So," Bull says casually, "were you thinking a boy or a girl for our first one?"

Dorian scowls at him. "We are not having this conversation."

"Human or qunari?" Bull ponders. "Maybe a dwarf. Or, hey, an elf! We could adopt a-"

He's silenced by the press of Dorian's mouth against his own. It's a stretch from Dorian's current position and Bull cups the back of his head to let him deepen the kiss that little bit further. Given how exhausted Dorian is, there's a surprising amount of passion in the kiss and Bull keeps it slow and undemanding, only breaking apart when the baby's little hands flail against his chest.

He tickles under her chin, chuckling when she squirms, and he kisses Dorian on the head when he sinks back into the comfort of Bull's arm. 

"I'm going to fall asleep," Dorian informs him. "Please try not to drop the baby again while I'm out."

"Hey now, 'drop' is a strong word."

"But not an inaccurate one," Dorian mumbles against his chest and Bull cards his fingers through Dorian's hair with a smile.

"No dropping," he promises. "Now take your nap, Dorian."

Dorian's offended noise is half-hearted at best. His breathing soon levels out and Bull peers down to meet the baby's eyes. Her eyelids are already drooping and Bull stifles another yawn as he says, "All right, Barn, it's just you and me now. There can only be one victor here."

It's one of the closest battles Bull's fought in a while but lulled by Dorian's quiet snores, the baby's eyes fall closed first. 

Bull only has a short time to revel in his triumph before the allure of a nap claims him too but he uses that time to move 'baby human' higher up their potential future adoption list. 

(And then, after a moment's thought, adds the preferred characteristic of 'chubby'.)


End file.
